A proposal to criminalise LGBT+ people in Ghana is “a gross violation” of human rights and could set back a decade of progress fighting HIV/Aids in the West African nation, according to the UN.
The Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, 2021, received a first reading in parliament on Monday. It will now be reviewed by a committee before going back to lawmakers for a second reading.
“This proposed legislation is a gross violation of the human rights of Ghana’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, who already face high levels of violence, abuse, stigma and discrimination,” said Patrick Brenny, who runs UNAids programmes across west and central Africa.
“UNAids stands squarely on the side of human rights, expresses its solidarity with LGBT people in Ghana and urges lawmakers to reject this bill.”
Gay sex is already punishable with up to three years in jail in Ghana.
The draft law goes further by imposing a maximum five-year term for anyone who is gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, pansexual or non-binary.
It also makes advocating for LGBT+ rights, sympathising or offering help — financial or medical — to LGBT+ people or their organisations crimes punishable by up to 10 years in jail.
According to UNAids, about 470,000 Africans living with HIV die every year because they cannot or do not get tested and so miss out on treatment.
If passed, this legislation will have the certain effect of driving people further away from HIV prevention, care and treatment services, and endanger the advances made.
— Patrick Brenny, UNAids
Vulnerable groups include men who have sex with men, along with transgender people and sex workers who encounter persecution.
About 60% of the 350,000 Ghanaians living with HIV now get antiretroviral therapy. This drops to 3.7% for the estimated 55,000 men who have sex with men who are living with HIV in the country.
Brenny said while Aids-related deaths per year in Ghana have fallen by more than a third to 13,000 since 2010 and new infections are down about a fifth, the bill would create “strong headwinds” against forging future progress.
“If passed, this legislation will have the certain effect of driving people further away from HIV prevention, care and treatment services, and endanger the advances made,” he said.
A 2019 study found thousands of gay men in Africa are likely die from HIV-related illnesses every year due to homophobic laws.
Major foreign aid donors, including the US, have also expressed concern about the proposed law and its fallout.
A US State Department spokesperson said it was concerned by “the increasing anti-LGBTQI+ rhetoric and actions” and was watching closely.
The US is Ghana’s top foreign aid donor, giving to a range of projects worth more than $210m (about R3bn) in 2018/19.
The EU, UK and the World Bank, which provided $265m (about R3,8bn) in 2018/19, urged Ghana to uphold protections enshrined in the country’s constitution.
“The EU actively condemns discriminatory laws, policies and practices, including the criminalisation of consenting same-sex relations between adults or transgender identities,” said an EU spokesperson.
A World Bank spokesperson said “institutionalised discrimination” had serious consequences in everyday life.
“When laws are enacted that prevent people from fully participating in the workforce, economies suffer,” he said, urging countries such as Ghana to embrace “equality of opportunity”.
— Thomson Reuters Foundation
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